Page 133 of Living Legend

I took the black doorknob in my hand and twisted, hearing the small creak it made as I entered. I let the door close softly behind me as I took in the space. It was larger than I had imagined, but it only seemed smaller due to the amount of stuff in stock around me.

It smelled like oak and eucalyptus. Lavender weaved its way into my nostrils, followed by coffee.I scanned the area to my left, forest green, glass-fronted cabinets hanging on the walls, filled with small, labeled bottles. A table was overloaded with tall bottles filled with a dark liquid and wide, short bottles of powders. Papers were scattered on the top of the table, everything written in a language I didn't understand.

I heard footsteps and saw Natalia come around the stairs. She looked pristine, but her face had the look of frustration.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

She waved me off, planting a smile back on her face. "Of course. It was just a mishap with a healing ointment."

"Healing ointment? Don't some of you have healingpowers?" I looked around the room, as if something in here would back me up.

She laughed that lyrical laugh of hers. "Well, yes, but some people like the physical stuff. I don't ask questions; it's magic, all the same. All the flowers and plants around here have some kind of magical property. It's good to have both under your belt." She scrunched her mouth to one side, wiping her hands on her dress.

I cleared my throat, obviously not knowing how to bring my questions up.

"Ah, you wanted to talk to me about something, right?"

I swallowed and nodded. "Is there somewhere more private we can go?"

Her eyes twinkled a bit. "Sure. Right upstairs, there’s a room where we can talk." She motioned for me to follow her, but once she turned around and started walking, she ran straight into a pretty, short-haired blonde. Her hair was a golden color that almost matched the sun. She wore cream linen pants and a flowing green top, her wrists decorated in golden bracelets.

They both giggled, and the blonde looked over Natalia's shoulder at me. She cocked her head to the side and squinted her piercing blue eyes at me. "Who’s this?"

Natalia turned on her heels to face me again. "Oh, Isabel, this is Nicholas." She placed her hand on Isabel's lower back. "Nicholas, this is Isabel, my girlfriend."

I raised my eyebrows. Internally, I was laughing hard at the fact that Reese would be severely disappointed. I stuck my hand out for her to take. "Nice to meet you."

She shook my hand and gave me a glowing smile. "You as well. Natalia did say we should be expecting a Nicholas soon. I hope you settle everything in Heaven's Gate." She started to look around, as if she was searching for something. "Did you bring your friend along?"

I looked over my shoulder at the window. "Reese? I left him by that pub in the main area." Was she talking about Elise?

Isabel pulled her eyebrows together. "Reese is the blonde one, yes? No, not him, the other one. The cute one with the curly hair."

Dani? How would she know Dani?

I let out a small, huffed laugh and snuck a glance over at Natalia, whose eyes were wide. I noticed her arm was still on Isabel's lower back. Isabel suddenly let out a small gasp, but she collected herself quickly, like she’d been pinched.

"You've met Dani?" I asked.

Isabel started to fidget around with her pants pockets, collecting her thoughts. "Natalia must have told me about her, that's all." A small reddish hue was creeping its way onto her chest. "I was actually on my way out, so I’ll see you in a little bit."

She leaned in and gave Natalia a quick peck on the lips and scurried past me. Over her shoulder, she yelled, "It was nice meeting you!"

I was still staring at Natalia and watching her stick her tongue out, licking her lower lip. She closed her eyes for what felt like an entire minute and then looked up at me. "Shall we go upstairs?"

"Natalia, has Dani been to Oculus without me?"

She pushed her hair off her shoulder in a flourish, as if to tell me she didn't have to answer. Instead, she started walking towards the stairs.

"Natalia." I stood my ground.

"Whatever I tell you won't change the situation we are currently in, so I suggest you stop fretting over something irrelevant to the here and now," she answered, continuing to walk towards the stairs.

I let out an exasperated sigh and followed her. My long legs had me at her side in a matter of seconds and we took the wide steps up the staircase one by one. Once we got to the second floor, I noticed there was a significant difference between this floor and the first. The first floor had more of a shop feel, whereas the second floor had various doors and little end tables with brass lamps. There was a massive lobby area, a wide rug with silver tassels on the floor.

Doors trailed the sides of the building, coming around to make a kind of U shaped towards the back, windows in between.

"There is a lot going on in the rooms downstairs, so I think it's best if we talk up here." She traveled towards the middle of the room to one of the doors near the back. "This one should be empty."

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